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O K L A H O MA F A C T S
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3
48.9 51.1 53.2
46.8
5.6
28.5
65.9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
No Yes No Yes 7+/week 1-6/week <1 or
none
Any Alcohol Use Any Binge Drinking Average Drinks Per Week
Percent
Reported Alcohol Use in 3 Months Before Pregnancy
Figure 1: Alcohol Use During the Three
Months Before Pregnancy, Oklahoma PRAMS
2009-2010
Prepregnancy Alcohol Use
Alcohol use during pregnancy is a
leading cause of preventable birth
defects and developmental disorders
in the United States. No safe level of
alcohol consumption during preg-nancy
has been established. In 2005,
the Office of the Surgeon General
issued recommendations that preg-nant
women, those planning to be-come
pregnant, and women at risk
for becoming pregnant abstain from
alcohol use.1 Because almost half of
the live births in Oklahoma are the
result of unintended pregnancies,
women may be pregnant for several
weeks before they realize it.
According to the Oklahoma Preg-nancy
Risk Assessment Monitoring
System (PRAMS), 51.1% of women
with live births in 2009-2010 re-ported
drinking alcohol in the three
months before pregnancy (Figure 1).
While 65.9% of women reported less
than one or no drinks in an average
week during those three months,
51.1% of women reported
drinking alcohol in the three
months prior to pregnancy.
5.6% of women reported
heavy alcohol consumption
(seven or more drinks per
week) preconceptionally.
46.8% of women who re-ported
alcohol use binge
drank at least once in the
three months prior to preg-nancy.
29.2% of women who re-ported
alcohol use prior to
pregnancy had an annual
household income of
$50,000 or more.
58.2% of women who drank
had more than a high school
education.
45.6% of women who con-sumed
alcohol also smoked
during the three months be-fore
pregnancy.
51.6% of women reporting
alcohol use had an unin-tended
pregnancy.
32.5% of women who used
alcohol prior to pregnancy
reported they did not receive
prenatal care counseling on
the effects of alcohol on the
infant.
28.5% reported having an average of
one to six drinks per week and 5.6%
reported 7-14 drinks per week. Ac-cording
to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC),
seven or more drinks per week for
women is considered heavy drink-ing.
Among women who reported alco-hol
use prior to pregnancy, 46.8%
reported binge drinking at least one
time in the three months prior to
pregnancy. This was defined as four
or more alcoholic drinks in a two
hour time span.
Over half of the women reporting
alcohol use prior to pregnancy fell
into the lowest and highest annual
household income categories; 20.6%
of women who reported alcohol use
prior to pregnancy had annual
household incomes of less than
$10,000 and 29.1% had $50,000 or
more. Figure 2 provides a com-parison
among women who did
October 2012

O K L A H O MA F A C T S
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3
48.9 51.1 53.2
46.8
5.6
28.5
65.9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
No Yes No Yes 7+/week 1-6/week <1 or
none
Any Alcohol Use Any Binge Drinking Average Drinks Per Week
Percent
Reported Alcohol Use in 3 Months Before Pregnancy
Figure 1: Alcohol Use During the Three
Months Before Pregnancy, Oklahoma PRAMS
2009-2010
Prepregnancy Alcohol Use
Alcohol use during pregnancy is a
leading cause of preventable birth
defects and developmental disorders
in the United States. No safe level of
alcohol consumption during preg-nancy
has been established. In 2005,
the Office of the Surgeon General
issued recommendations that preg-nant
women, those planning to be-come
pregnant, and women at risk
for becoming pregnant abstain from
alcohol use.1 Because almost half of
the live births in Oklahoma are the
result of unintended pregnancies,
women may be pregnant for several
weeks before they realize it.
According to the Oklahoma Preg-nancy
Risk Assessment Monitoring
System (PRAMS), 51.1% of women
with live births in 2009-2010 re-ported
drinking alcohol in the three
months before pregnancy (Figure 1).
While 65.9% of women reported less
than one or no drinks in an average
week during those three months,
51.1% of women reported
drinking alcohol in the three
months prior to pregnancy.
5.6% of women reported
heavy alcohol consumption
(seven or more drinks per
week) preconceptionally.
46.8% of women who re-ported
alcohol use binge
drank at least once in the
three months prior to preg-nancy.
29.2% of women who re-ported
alcohol use prior to
pregnancy had an annual
household income of
$50,000 or more.
58.2% of women who drank
had more than a high school
education.
45.6% of women who con-sumed
alcohol also smoked
during the three months be-fore
pregnancy.
51.6% of women reporting
alcohol use had an unin-tended
pregnancy.
32.5% of women who used
alcohol prior to pregnancy
reported they did not receive
prenatal care counseling on
the effects of alcohol on the
infant.
28.5% reported having an average of
one to six drinks per week and 5.6%
reported 7-14 drinks per week. Ac-cording
to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC),
seven or more drinks per week for
women is considered heavy drink-ing.
Among women who reported alco-hol
use prior to pregnancy, 46.8%
reported binge drinking at least one
time in the three months prior to
pregnancy. This was defined as four
or more alcoholic drinks in a two
hour time span.
Over half of the women reporting
alcohol use prior to pregnancy fell
into the lowest and highest annual
household income categories; 20.6%
of women who reported alcohol use
prior to pregnancy had annual
household incomes of less than
$10,000 and 29.1% had $50,000 or
more. Figure 2 provides a com-parison
among women who did
October 2012